Tuesday, 1 October 2013

DIGITAL WORDS / Drake "Nothing Was The Same" Album Review

In a post
Kanye-West-interview-with-Zane-Lowe world, Drake is looking like an average
Joe. He’s a heavyweight big-name, big-bucks star, yet he registers nowhere on
the insanity scale of fame. Good for you, Aubrey.

It’s been two years since Drake truly
established his widespread appeal with Take Care and,
helpfully, this is exactly where Nothing Was The Same picks up
from. In a “last time on…” style reminder, Drake lets us know on opener ‘Tuscan
Leather’ that he made “20 million” off his last record and he doesn’t plan on
changing his winning atmospheric sound or his well-played conflicted sense of
character any time soon. Yet it’s not money that Drake sees as his biggest
boasting point.

Yes, he may have recently come in at
No. 11 on Forbes’ highest-earning hip-hop list, but mainstream success and
recognition is what Drake seems to want to show-off and have his contemporaries
bow down to. “Degenerates, but even Ellen loves our shit,” Drake
quite appropriately points out. He’s right – how many other rappers can
comfortably appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show? And when he semi brags, “I’m
just as famous as my mentor” it feels like Drake is displaying that
rare beast of modesty in hip-hop as, let’s face it, Drake is making better
records and accruing more fans than Lil Wayne right now.

Drake’s growing fame is down to the
fact that he is a different calibre of rap star to that of Weezy. Although he
has mastered his dichotomy of braggadocio rapper and sensitive singer well,
we all prefer the latter mode. Girls love the Drake who says
the stuff they want to hear. You know, like liking your hair when it’s wet,
noticing that you’ve been eating right, working out and getting an education…
Swoon. Again, how many rappers could get away with professing, “Next
time we fuck, I don’t wanna fuck, I wanna make love” (‘Own It’) or
plainly talking through a deep sense of regret and loss over an ex (‘From
Time’)?

More than this, it’s Drake’s ability
to get introspective and show off his vulnerability (all the while propped up
by a gorgeously minimalist yet sprawling R&B backdrop) that sets him
apart and makes his brand of hip hop so prevalently esteemed.

The straight down the line R&B
heartthrob is his strongest suit and he should stick to it more often. As
showcased on ‘Hold On, We’re Going Home’ – aka the best song of the year, no
question – he can do insanely catchy hooks and auto-tune-free vocals. And as
the accompanying video proves, Drake can and will save you from a hostage
situation and put his jacket over your shoulders once his heroic mission has
been completed. This is the Drake we want, know and love; if he can curb the
seemingly requisite ego trips, Drake could produce an entire album as perfect
as ‘Hold On, We’re Going Home’.